MSNBC suspends Ed Schultz

Ed Schultz, host of “The Ed Show” on MSNBC, was suspended for a week on Wednesday after describing conservative radio host Laura Ingraham as a “right-wing slut.”

The remark came on the populist pundit’s own radio show, but prompted MSNBC to say in a statement: “Remarks of this nature are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

On his show, Schultz declared:

“President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday, but you know, like this right-wing slut — What’s her name, Laura Ingraham — Yeah, she’s a talk slut.

“You see, she was back in the days, praising President Reagan when he was drinking a beer overseas. But now that Obama’s doing it, they’re working him over.”

Ingraham responded with cool understatement and claws extended. “I was surprised to learn that Ed Schultz actually hosted a radio show,” she said. “Is it available only on line.”

Ingraham added a remark about “men who preach civility but practice misogyny.”

Schultz is a former football player and North Dakota sports announcer, whose political views have turned populist-progressive since days when he thought of running for Congress as a Republican. He is an outspoken supporter of labor protests against efforts by Wisconsin’s GOP Gov. Scott Walker to eviscerate the bargaining authority of public employee unions.

He assumed a key mid-evening slot in MSNBC’s lineup earlier this year with the departure from the network of Keith Olbermann.